The white picket fence dividing our properties wasn’t high. I used a
decorative rock to give me some height then threw myself over the fence. I
hit Marwick’s dry ground, grunted, and rolled to my feet.
Ruby had locked her back door. I knocked then called out, trying to make
my voice loud enough for Ruby to hear without it carrying to the street. “It’s
Jo! Let me in!”
It took a minute, but then the bolt clattered as Ruby unlocked the door. I
didn’t like standing in the yard and slipped inside as soon as I could. “Sorry,
I’m really sorry, but Raul’s back.”
“Oh.” She sounded emotionally dead. I squinted at her, trying to read her
face, but she turned away before I could get a good look at her. “Thanks for
telling me.”
“Something’s wrong.” I shut the door behind us and turned the light on.
“What is it? What happened?”
She still wouldn’t face me, so I grabbed her arm and turned her around. In
the light, it was easier to see that her eyes were rimmed with red and her
cheeks were blotchy. She stared at me a moment, then her face scrunched up
as fresh tears started to fall.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” I pulled her into a hug and patted her back. “I’m
sorry for telling you so suddenly. It’ll be okay.”
She hiccupped, trying to control herself, and took a shuddering breath.
“It’s the dolls. No one wants them anymore.”
“What?”
She pulled out of the hug and wiped her hands across her face. “I
uploaded a new batch today. They usually sell out within minutes. But no
one’s bought them. And they’re leaving such horrible comments—”
Ruby broke into sobs again. I hunted through the kitchen until I found a
box of tissues and pressed some into her hands. “You’re okay. This is going
to be okay. I’m sure… I’m sure there’s just a mistake or something. Do you
want me to take a look?”
She hesitated then nodded. “They’re all upstairs.”
I suppressed a shiver at the idea of returning to the blue room and fixed a
smile on my face before Ruby could see. “All right. Let’s see what the
problem is.”
We climbed the stairs together. A crawling sensation of being watched
ran over my back, and I struggled to ignore it. Don’t react. Don’t feed the
ghost.
The blue room’s door groaned as Ruby pushed it open. The desk had
been cleared of paints and miniature clothes, and a laptop had been set up
beside a row of five dolls. A small digital camera sat on the nearby shelf. I
stepped close to the dolls, preparing to praise them, but the words choked off
in my throat.
They were horrifying. Like something out of a B-grade horror movie
where a doll stalks and murders its family. The lips were pressed into severe
lines. The eyes were wide and intent but not warm. They reminded me of
wolf eyes. Hungry. Fixated.
One doll had a splatter of red streaks across her arms and face. All she
needed was an axe to complete her ensemble.
“What do you think?” Ruby whispered. She stood behind me, fingerstangled together in anxious anticipation.
I didn’t want to tell her they were a disaster. She was heartbroken enough.
But I couldn’t believe she didn’t see how hideous they were. “Um… why
don’t you tell me about your inspiration for them?”
“Well, I wanted to try something new. All of my dolls are usually
smiling. And I thought, it’s not normal for a child to smile all the time.
Sometimes they want to look calm and peaceful, you know? So I was
thinking of calling these my serene line.”
I motioned towards the doll at the end of the line. “And the blood?”
Ruby’s anxious smile dropped. She looked from the doll back to me as
fresh tears ran over her cheeks. “It’s paint. She’s meant to be an artist. That’s
why she’s wearing a painter’s smock.”
I didn’t know what to say. Ruby pressed her palms to her eyes as hiccups
built in her chest. “They’re not good, are they? People are commenting.
They’re saying they’re ugly and evil and a bad joke. But I really, really tried
so hard…”